Mrs Cooper smiles sadly, pats my hand and stands.
“Don’t let that get around. This lot will be impossible to control if they think I’ve got a soft spot.”
“Fair enough.” I stand too.
“I like you, young Ant. Don’t let Marion and Warren chase you off. Lili needs someone in her corner.”
That mirrors my sentiments so closely I’m lost for words for a moment.
“I’m team Lilavati all the way, Mrs Cooper. She can rely on me.”
“Call me Grandie,” she says over her shoulder as she makes her way back inside.
Well. That didn’t go as I expected.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lilavati
Ihaven’t ridden a horse since Mum and Warren caved in to my begging and sent me to Pony Camp when I was twelve. Which they only did because it coincided with a trip to Hong Kong they wanted to make, and it got me out of the way. Evidence, I was never allowed to go again. My clothes smelt of horse when I returned.
Ant has taken care of everything. Not only do we have a car to take us to the ranch, but when we arrive, I discover he’s organised a private tour. Just us and a guide.
A riding helmet is settled on my head, boots in my size are found, and I’m boosted onto a gorgeous caramel horse with a cream mane and tail.
We set off through some of the most spectacular countryside I’ve ever seen. Magnificent jungles, crashing waterfalls, hills with sweeping views of rocky beaches and glittering water. The scent of damp earth, lush tropical flowers and sun-warmed horse rides the ocean breeze. A combination I wish I could bottle and take home with me.
The guide makes himself scarce when we stop for lunch at a picnic spot that’s been set up at a breathtaking lookout.
There’s champagne on ice, lobster tails and a fresh fruit platter, all arranged on a blanket complete with pillows and an umbrella to protect us from the midday sun. Nothing has been forgotten.
“So, you still haven’t told me what you and Grandie talked about last night.” I pop a piece of the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever tasted into my mouth. I’m getting a bit addicted to this fruit.
“I’m afraid that’s between me and Grandie.” Ant runs a finger over my chin to catch the dripping juice, causing me palpitations by licking it clean before continuing. “Suffice to say, we reached a mutual understanding.”
“Hmm. And suddenly you’re calling her Grandie?”
“She asked me to.”
When I shoot him a sceptical look, he shrugs. “What can I say? I’m charming and I charmed her.”
There’s more to this than he’s saying, but for the first time in years, I’m too relaxed to argue, or to call him out on it. “Alright. Keep your secrets. As long as she didn’t say anything offensive.”
I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.
“Nothing offensive at all. In fact, she was lovely. We got along great.”
Now I know he’s lying. Nobody has ever accused my grandmother of being lovely. But again, relaxed.
Ant lies back and, ignoring the available cushions, I prop my head on his chest as he wraps an arm around me and we lapse into comfortable silence.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ant says just as I’m about to doze off. “I got something for you.”
He digs around in his pocket and pulls out a fat, green, plaster of Paris turtle fridge magnet with ‘Kapalua Bay’ in cursive around the bottom of the shell. I recognise it as one they sell inthe resort gift shop. It somehow manages to be very ugly and beautiful at the same time. And it’s the perfect memento of our time in Hawaii.
“A fridge magnet?” I’m touched.
“I noticed you didn’t have any. That’s not normal, Sparky.”
